“Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb and he spoke as a dragon. He exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence. And he makes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose fatal wound was healed. He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down out of heaven to the earth in the presence of men. And he deceives those who dwell on the earth because of the signs which it was given him to perform in the presence of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who had the wound of the sword and has come to life. And it was given to him to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast would even speak and cause as many as do not worship the image of the beast to be killed. And he causes all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free men and the slaves, to be given a mark on their right hand or on their forehead, and he provides that no one will be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has the mark, either the name of the beast or the number of his name.” – Revelation 13:11-17

With today’s brand of “believe for the benefits you get gospel,” I greatly fear for many souls who will face this awful choice some day. There will be a generation of believers who will face this question and at the moment it will seem that it would be to one’s advantage to just take this mark since we can rationalize that, “God would not want me to be unemployed and unable to take care of my needs and the needs of my family.”
This kind of thinking comes from the “Name it and Claim it, God wants you rich mentality.” God is not there to serve us but we are here to serve Him! We forget that there have been martyrs throughout the history of the Jews and the church to this very day. People are this minute being killed for their faith around the world. Don’t buy into this false teaching of escape before it hurts. Rationalization at this point is eternally dangerous. The critical issue is that God will take care of this tribulation generation of saints and does not need our rationalizations to help Him out. Fearsome consequences face any and all human beings who take this mark. I strongly believe that taking this mark will also involve renouncing our faith in Jesus Christ in order to get the mark. It won’t be some blind sided trick that the government or some other entity comes up with to “trick” you into taking it. It will also put our very lives at risk by refusing to take it. Many in our society already are trying to make Christians the oddballs because we will not play their international king of the hill game with them. The believers were blamed for just about everything bad that happened in Rome in the first century and it will be very similar in the last days. What will happen to those who do opt for the so-called “safe” route and take the mark.Â (Note: I strongly hold to eternal security but also hold that the truly born again would not hesitate to die for their faith in Jesus rather than sell out the most precious thing in their life.)
Read on and the Word of God will make it very clear. “Then another angel, a third one, followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, he also will drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is mixed in full strength in the cup of His anger; and he will be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their tormentgoes up forever and ever; they have no rest day and night, those who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.’ ” – Revelation 14:9-11

“So the first angel went and poured out his bowl on the earth; and it became a loathsome and malignant sore on the people who had the mark of the beast and who worshiped his image.” – Revelation 16:2“And the beast was seized, and with him the false prophet who performed the signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image; these two were thrown alive into the lake of fire which burns with brimstone.” – Revelation 19:20“Then I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was given to them. And I sawthe souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received the mark on their forehead and on their hand; and they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.” – Revelation 20:4
It seems to me that the time is now to make up our minds to refuse the mark of the beast and let God take care of us and our loved ones. This will take faith far beyond any of our imaginations. It will most likely mean loosing everything we own, our employment and even our lives. Can we grasp the reality of all of this?“For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sakewill find it.” – Matthew 16:25“For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sakeand the gospel’s will save it.” – Mark 8:35“For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake,he is the one who will save it.” – Luke 9:24“He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it to life eternal.” – John 12:25
Why is this verse repeated in all four gospels? Because it is critically important that we get it and cling to it! Something very similar to having a mark to work happened in the Roman empire in the first century. This last time will be final. The only ones left standing at the end of this one will be the believers who remained faithful and true to the Lord Jesus Christ.Â This is a very sobering thought and not one to be put off till later.Â “Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to cast some of you into prison, so that you will be tested, and you will have tribulation for ten days. Â Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.” – Revelation 2:10

Critical Note: As far as the idea that you will escape this time because you will be raptured out of it, well you probably want to do a little more research on when the rapture doctrine started in Christianity. Dr. Walter Martin, now with the Lord, did an awesome study that can be obtained through the Bible Answer Man program. He makes a good case for every Christian to think carefully about the question of, “what if I do have to go through the tribulation?” Martin points out that for the rapture to occur there would have to be two first resurrections. How can we have two of one event? He says that for nineteen hundred years the church knew nothing of the rapture teaching.
The early church fathers made no mention of such a teaching. I personally am all for the rapture but I also want to be a realist and face the possibility that this could happen in my lifetime. This mark is very real and on its way into our society rapidly. Do not be caught off guard. Make the choice now to stand strong in your trust in Jesus Christ. The writer of Hebrews warns us of the consequences of shrinking back from our trust.“But we are not of those who shrink back to destruction, but of those who have faithto the preserving of the soul.” – Hebrews 10:39
I know that this article is a lot to swallow all at once. Don’t let fear cause you to just put this issue away. It is as real as a heart attack. I only write what I sense God leading me to write. I don’t have all the answers but when the Word of God speaks as clearly as this on any subject I think we need to heed what is written. May God give us eyes to see and hearts to obey His wonderful Word.